Ireland Men’s White-Ball squads for the multi-format series that begins in late September in Abu Dhabi have been announced by national selectors ahead of the ODI and T20I series against South Africa.
Following their June participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies, the senior men’s team is playing white-ball cricket again for this series.
The fixtures are as follows:
27 September 2024: Ireland Men v South Africa Men (1st T20I; Abu Dhabi; start 4.30 pm)
29 September 2024: Ireland Men v South Africa Men (2nd T20I; Abu Dhabi; start 4.30 pm)
2 October 2024: Ireland Men v South Africa Men (1st ODI; Abu Dhabi; start 12.30 pm)
4 October 2024: Ireland Men v South Africa Men (2nd ODI; Abu Dhabi; start 12.30 pm)
7 October 2024: Ireland Men v South Africa Men (3rd ODI; Abu Dhabi; start 12.30 pm)
“2026 and 2027 are pivotal years for our white-ball squads – those years being the next T20 and 50-over World Cups, respectively,” national selector Andrew White said of the teams chosen. We are looking at this forthcoming series versus South Africa as the beginning of a new cycle, given their respective timelines. In light of this, we shall examine a variety of lineups and combinations of players, even though some of the uncapped players who were being actively examined—like Morgan Topping and Liam McCarthy—were still recovering from injuries and were unable to be considered.
“The top order in our T20 squad is one area we will investigate on this tour. We’re going to try something different this time around, with Andrew Balbirnie missing the T20Is. In the forthcoming series, there will only be two T20Is, but they will present significant chances as we look to raise our game once more. In the ODIs, Andrew will open the batting and continues to be very much at the centre of our minds.
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“Over the past 18 months, the Ireland Emerging and Wolves tours have been invaluable not only to the players but also to our succession planning.” We must increase the depth of our international cricket player pool. Players like Gavin Hoey will enter the international stage with more confidence as a result of his participation in these kinds of matches, therefore this is crucial. There are plenty of great international matches scheduled until 2027, and players will have the chance to leave their imprint.
Ireland Men’s ODI squad:
Paul Stirling (captain), Mark Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Gavin Hoey, Fionn Hand, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Andy McBrine, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.
Ireland Men’s T20I squad:
Paul Stirling (captain), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Fionn Hand, Matthew Humphreys, Graham Hume, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.